In the past 12 months, authorities have carried out more than 1,000 evictions of makeshift shelters across France, a new report shows. Aid groups warn that the evictions only make the situation worse for those whose homes are dismantled.
French Guiana in South America has become both a destination and a popular transit point for migrants hoping to reach France. The fragile social system in the French territory is buckling under the pressure of increasing migrant arrivals. InfoMigrants' Charlotte Oberti reports from Cayenne.
Kandia, a Guinean who arrived in France a month ago, narrowly escaped death in the Mediterranean Sea. In July, he boarded an inflatable boat with 84 other migrants, convinced, as the smugglers had promised, that they would be rescued after a few hours. Their ordeal lasted five days in the end.
A study published by Doctors Without Borders revealed that a high percentage of people living in extreme hardship in shelters and workers' hostels in the Paris region had been infected with COVID-19. The medical charity recommends ending accommodation in gymnasiums.
In Belgium, 32-year-old Sammy Mahdi, the son of an Iraqi refugee, has just been appointed Secretary of State for Asylum and Migration. He said his goal is to increase deportations.
The International Organization for Migration's repatriation program for migrants stranded in Libya, which resumed in August after months of hiatus, is drawing thousands of applicants. InfoMigrants reports on the progress and conditions of these so-called voluntary returns.
At the French-Italian border, dozens of migrants from all walks of life are prevented every day from crossing into France. A fallback for those who are weary of this cat-and-mouse game, the city of Ventimiglia has become a merciless territory for migrants in recent months.
Abdulfatah Hamdallah was found dead on a beach in northern France on August 19. The 28-year-old Sudanese migrant had tried to cross the Channel to the UK after his asylum application in France was rejected, according to media reports.
As part of a social program, French pensioner Antoine Boulanger in February opened up his home to Malian teenager Bakary. But after just a month of living together, France went into lockdown because of the coronavirus, and the two started to bond – in part thanks to their common interest in science.
A group of associations and NGOs set up a camp for young migrants in the heart of Paris on Monday evening to highlight the plight of young people who claim to be minors. While they wait for their paperwork to be handled, they do not benefit from any care.
The Roja transit camp closed its doors to new arrivals on April 18, when Italy imposed a nationwide COVID-19 lockdown. While the camp remains shut, up to 200 migrants are forced to sleep on city streets.
Koumba, from Guinea, arrived in France at the end of 2017 along with her two daughters, then aged two and four. She hoped to spare them the traumatic experience of female circumcision and wanted to offer them a good education. Two and a half years later, she says she has lost all hope for her future in France.